WHERE IS EVERYONE?
The Man in Armor apparently not only destroyed Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and the Ministry; but also our Player Base vanished overnight during this Main Plot. Where did that 20+ Player Base I saw disappear to? Why was everyone so available, and then suddenly overnight so unavailable? What do the Players want to see? What are the Player's upset about? This is about the Players, and we're going to answer some questions and set things straight...

So... Where is everyone? Why'd everyone stop playing suddenly? This isn't to crucify you, it's because we care. We want to know how everyone is doing, or where everyone is at. We're family. Maybe a few people left because they didn't like how something was being done, and we want to hear about that (We being the DMs). Or maybe someone is overburdened with school, work, and family; we want to support you. Maybe someone has simply lost interest, and both the DMs and the Playerbase (If I may speak for them) wishes to help bring you back if we can. We miss you.

What's Happening...
ONE - Roleplay | Many people have been logging on just to check the 'Player List', if this is you, you are -wrong-. I'm going to hit on this more later on... Basically log on to come Roleplay. Not to AFK in public areas, see if your 'significant other' is on, or see if your 'group' is on. The people who are on the server are there to Roleplay, and it can hurt them when you log on and then off after seeing it's only them on. This can make them feel inadequate to be roleplayed with, and I'm not just blowing smoke here, I've been expressed this by more than one Player.

Go Roleplay when you log on, even if it's someone you never Roleplay with like a childish, heartless, psychotic lesbian named Liss. Maybe you get her to snap, she starts attacking you and blowing things up, goes on a rampage, you're sent to the Hospital, the Professors make a huge deal about it, the entire school is talking about it, and now by you being on with just a 'Liss' everything has snowballed and you subconsciously created Roleplay for the entire server.

Or maybe you start talking about shoes and feminist things with Cray and suddenly people start logging on, peeking their heads in, and see the Roleplay. They join in, the conversation escalates to perversion and piercings, and before you know it Cray's having his nails painted and make-up done by a full server.

For any questions regarding Roleplay further:
http://forums.wohp.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5632&sid=efa0a63b158f3235a3f1ce7750a30d4e

TWO - Confinement | Players have been feeling like they're confined to these new locations. My question is, how is this any different from the Hogwarts Entrance Hall? It's literally the same thing we all did in the Entrance Hall, just a change of scenery and something to talk about now. I understand that many people are bored with the lengthiness of the current situation, but this is a Main Plot for the CHARACTERS, it will never progress without the Characters making it.

THREE - Numbers | I don't want to beat a dead horse, but just because the server populations says 1/40 doesn't mean it's not worth logging in. That single person could be Kimi Rachels, and you could just be in for the most weird and insane Roleplay conversation of your life. Or as I've seen many times, you log in and four others log in after you.

Frustrating Things...
ONE - Logging on/off | Logging in just to peek your head at the Player List. This is completely wrong. As I've said before, this can be demeaning to other Players. If you are logging on to see if a certain person is on, then you obviously had intention to Roleplay if they were on, which means you obviously have the time to BE on. Stay logged on semi-AFK if you must. The DMs would much rather see you on and semi-AFK then immediately logging off. Not only does it raise the Player Base, but also raises your chances of catching that person log in. Who knows, you might run into some sort of crazy Roleplay by a sneaky DM or a person you don't usually Roleplay with. This is World of Harry Potter, not MSN Messenger (Now I feel old).

TWO - Event Logging | I've noticed a lot of people are logging in only for the preset Event nights. This is honestly incredibly sad to see and frustrating to the DMs and even Players. I will tell you right now that the DMs have absolutely no intention of advertising when Main Plot events will take place for this exact reason. We want to see people on and Roleplaying, and let us surprise them, not have people logging in asking "Is it time yet?" and "Can I get a port?". The Main Plot is the DMs way of working hard to entertain the loyal and dedicated Players. Many people don't log in because nothing happens, but nothing can happen when you're logged off. It's a contradiction, and you have to just trust the DMs with the changes we've made that stuff will be happening.

THREE - Complaining without action | This sort of piggybacks previous points. Many people are complaining that they never log in because nothing ever happens, or they never log in because no one logs in, or they never log in because the Main Plot hasn't progressed.... Take a moment, rethink these contradicting complaints, and I'm going to leave it at that... Those are pretty self-explanatory, and if they -seriously- need explaining, please come talk to me.

We completely understand that people become busy. Every single point I just made can easily be refuted with the "I'm busy" excuse. And generally this is a completely valid excuse. So if you are honestly swamped, just try to let us know, we like to know how everyone is doing and send our good wishes.

What do the PLAYERS want? This is a open conversation thread for everyone to express anything related to the topic. What would the Player's like to see? Does anyone have any ideas to help fix these problems? What do the Player's want more of, less of, or gone? This server is for the Players and cannot run without them. Every idea will be given it's own thread for discussion among the DMs -personally-.

What are some of your frustrations, suggestions, thoughts, etc? Vent. We want to hear it. If you have an issue with how the DMs are doing something, address it here professionally and we will respond professionally and work to fix it. Do you think none of these things are issues? Maybe some are and some aren't? Do you have any other ideas as to what's happening? Is there anything you want to express to your fellow Players?

Please post your concerns, as I know multiple people have them; you've expressed them to me plenty on the server. These are valid concerns/comments/suggestions and should be heard. I hope we can have a well-mannered discussion here and progress back toward a fun, full server. If you are taking your time to read all of this, then I know you care, so please post something. I better see as many posts as views.

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The Criminal - Sliver Vortec - Expelled
The Brain - Skylar Dune - Seventh Year
The Athlete - Lance Silverston - Seventh Year
The Basket Case - Drathil Vortec - Seventh Year

"Everybody prefers to see a nut - they're more fascinating." - Penn Jillette

For the sake of the thread I would like to make a few point of my own.

I personally have not been on because of school, work and real life. Just things in my personally life have been really hectic lately and getting on is more of an annoyance than enjoyment. With school out however, I will defiantly have more free time to come on at various times when I am not working. ( I am currently working at a hospital, so my hours are will be all over the place since I am no longer in school.)

Anyways, I think these are really my main points why I haven't been to eager. I feel like there is a lot of people who log on and then log off when someone isn't on, especially when I am on by myself for more than 30 minutes and this happens. Makes me feel like no one wants/wanted to role play with me. I have indeed done this before because....I see those couple who hide in closets and houses that I am not going to metagame walking into. We can't really do that anymore anyways.
This brings me to my next point. I don't really like how we cant see where anybody is at anymore. I don't like wondering around looking for people when I want to role play. This may seem contradicting to my last reason but it a bit different. If someone is in a room nearby that I could just wander into, I can't really do that anymore because I don't know they are there.
I feel like my character that I play most often, Chance is someone that I use to do stupid things to get people to role play with me. That ends up my character looking stupid and to be honest I don't really want to continue doing that anymore. Sometimes I do it because I am slap happy but thats besides the point.

I feel like I am restricted on what I can and cannot do on the server. I honestly feel like there is to much "favoritism" that goes on in the server. There are a lot of roleplay opportunities that I would love to do with my character to make things interesting for myself. I feel like though I am always denied the opportunity. If you want examples I can give them to you. I came to the server expecting to make a character that allowed me to have the "harry potter" experience to a certain extent. I don't feel like that this has ever happened for me. I don't want to be someone that gets trampled on by every player that comes my way because they have everything and I do not. ( I hope this all makes sense)
I understand that you can't just allow everyone to have everything because then that just ruins role play. I honestly just feel limited....

I think those are the main points I wanted to make but but besides all of that, I do appreciate the DM team and everybody that works with the players and server. It is indeed a great server that I am glad has survived for such a long time. Thanks for taking the time to ask and read my thoughts.

I just wanted to pop my head in and say how awesome I think this post is.
It's absolutely worth it to just try and hop on and seek someone out to RP with right now, there's so much going on that could be played through! Some of the recent changes help with the "confinement" issue, too.

One important thing I'd like to add for other players too, not just DMs... Be available for RP, guys! It's the best thing you can do. Unless you're being forced to by IC circumstances... don't totally isolate your character, physically or psychologically. Write around this at all costs. Sometimes it's hard, but it's worth it. You'll have more fun and so will everyone else you encounter.

As far as the DM Team goes, here's some of the concerns I've seen personally and heard from other players I talk to. But I want you to know that all of you who I've played with recently are great and shouldn't get discouraged. I'm only doing this because I care about the server.

1. DM Approachability and Friendliness.
Let's face it... it's scary to pester a DM to do something for you, and (hopefully) good players don't want to seem like a burden to any of you. DMs are oftentimes busy, or RPing something else, and there's always been a long-standing suggestion not to bother one who is on player-side. All of these things are completely understandable.
However! As much as a certain amount of secrecy is important to keep things IC, it's hard to know how and when to contact a DM or communicate with one when it isn't already happening.
Progress has already been made on this, in my experience. And especially now that we can easily send tells to NPC's. (That's an awesome feature! It seems to have happened on accident?)
An easier way to know when a DM is online and available to talk would be helpful here - this could be an /e command or something similar perhaps? It may not be a bad idea to have a "busy" flag just in case, though it's also very important for a DM not to scare players or seem too intimidating. Sometimes it takes a while for a player to get comfortable talking to each DM, I know it has for me. And some of you are awesome at this already.

2. PC Uselessness/Underpower.
This goes doubly for every year your character is under seventh - the perception is that you just can't accomplish anything special and never will. Some would say this should be as fun to RP as anything else, and sometimes it is! But no one wants to play the pointless butt monkey. Every character should get their chance to shine, regardless of year. The new skill point system could be a wonderful way to help express this through individual RP. At the moment, it is somewhat skewed in favor of older students, but we can work with this by just generally providing more opportunity for all PCs to mean something in the world and to themselves.
As someone who plays a lot, it's more frustrating than it should be, to run into a week of complete brick-wall failure. Now imagine this in the eyes of a player that only just popped in for a couple days to give this place another chance, and upon any DM interaction at all, is immediately greeted with how useless they are because they're a first or second year who doesn't roll 20s. It's disheartening, depressing to RP, and certainly doesn't encourage them to keep logging in.
The solution is not year-rushing - not everyone wants to do this, it's like reading book summaries so you can skip right to Deathly Hallows.
And I've even been hearing these kinds of concerns from a couple seventh years, too.
In short, it's... just too darn difficult to accomplish anything unless you're extremely lucky OOC -and- have good DM contact -and- are playing exactly the right type of character.
Accomplishments should not be central to RP, but everyone wants the freedom to explore the world of magic, with their own character's development and personality in mind.

I want to wholeheartedly thank the DM team for their efforts on this and willingness to hear out these topics. We've got the foundations of something really great here, we just need to keep working at it.

Sorry for the lengthy post. The best thing we can do, player and DM alike, is first participate as ourselves and our characters, and secondly look to each other and help each other have the most fun "Harry Potter" experience we can. Everything else will fall into place if we keep that in mind.

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Corinne Beckett - Inherited flower shop and eventually relocated to Diagon Alley.
Michael Draufy - Went to America to study native magical creatures. Still visits Anastasia.
Jade Celine - Married Peran and became a magical archaeologist.
Ana Celine - Took her revenge and vanished into the night.
Space Dog - Some say it still roams the halls of Hogwarts in search of petting.

It is a great deal different. This is essentially a refugee camp in the approximate heart of the magic government within the UK. So with big brother watching even closer than usual, students feel more intimidated by rules. After all, this is a government building, NOT the Arkham Asylum we call Hogwarts.

Probably the biggest concern I am seeing is a lack of DM availability and lack of communication. It seems that Calan and JB the ones who are DMing the most. And I've heard complaints from them both (or Calan at least) that they're starting to get burned out. I don't know, perhaps this is the case with much of the DM staff, or perhaps they're dealing with RL. I understand RL is very important but it would be nice to hear from you. Letting us know RL has you down or you're burned out. A suggestion I have is perhaps stepping down, even if temporary (like Joki and Zane have in the past) if you know you're going to be MIA for 3 months+ (or indefinite.)
I've also heard that a lack of DM availability may be partially the reason as to why some RP is neglected, especially for post grad characters. That being said, post grad is essentially an unofficial perma. Yes, I understand we can run off and RP getting drunk at the Green Door, sun bathing on the beach with friends, hitting up the ice cream parlor. I'm not sure who else agrees with me, but I am a lover of fiction, logging in and the only option is to RP non-fiction, or things I can easily do irl is not something I come here for. Also, post grad characters are people too, the economy is fluctuating, people are buying and selling out of fear. Some abandoning their homes or are victims and have no means to rebuild. But sadly no opportunist post grad can take advantage of the situation and must sit on the back burner until Calan or JB finish plot, which by that time, the opportunity will have come and gone.


I agree, this is how it feels at times but for now my money is on the new skill system ushering in a new era to how things are perceived and RPed.


Indeed, the DMs can come off as intimidating and/or harsh. A busy flag could in theory be useful. Especially since they seem to be the most intimidating and/or harsh when they are in the middle of some intense RP elsewhere.

Lastly, I enjoyed the fact that we had started going back to doing 1-3 classes a week but ever since the main plot started, we now are back to one a week, sometimes less.

Well it's nearly 2:30am here. Hopefully things made since and/or didn't come off too crotchety. Sleep deprivation can do that to ya. G'night and thanks for caring Necro.

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This. The OOC knowledge of where other players were through party was really useful, because you could see where other chars were, make up an IC reason for your char to go there and put yourself out there to join in. Now, I often find myself logging because noone is around and I don't have a clue where they are and I don't want to interrupt their RP by bugging them with a tell.

I'm really not surprised that more people log in for events, because they know that there will be something to do other than hang around the Hogwarts tent and they know that there will be opportunities to RP with others.

Playing a first year, (and I know it isn't possible at the moment anyway, but just as an example), I really miss when we had to go into the forest to get ingredients for our homework, because it was a way to initiate getting to know other first years who had the same homework or older students whom you could ask for help. Quite often older students have no IC reason to talk to first years. How many 7th formers really know many of the younger kids in third form in high school? Therefore, this was a way to RP with them without anyone feeling forced to come up with a reason to RP with someone who they have no reason to notice IC. Plus you got to actually go out and explore places and use spells on things.

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Anastasia McLaren - 4th year Slytherin
Anna Daljera - 3rd year Gryffindor
Shizuka Matsuri - 2nd year Ravenclaw

*is making a post, like a good Kimi would*

I personally don't have any complaints about the current main plot, as I've said many times before. To me, like Necro said, we are all pretty much doing the same thing as we would in the EH... Think of it as a change of scenery!

However, there is the IC doom and gloom of those who were lost, missing the school, etc. But...... Whatever, I don't play depressed well lol. And even if our chars were back in the EH... They'd still be mopey about the ones who were lost. And those who love the doom and gloom would still be spreading it, just around the EH instead...

My only complaint is how not many people log in during the hours I am available to play, but for the most part, it's very understandable considering it's Mon-Fri in the mornings. But there are a few people who do log in and play, and there's also the few people who log in for a few seconds and log off.

I will be gone for a week (at least) before too long, but I will be logging in when I get the opportunity. And I will miss the few people I RP with during the week ^_^

Ok... I'm done. I've made my post. No one can say I didn't. Fwahaha!

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“The things you own end up owning you. It's only after you lose everything that you're free to do anything.”

I know this sounds silly to some people because IC is IC, but this is a very real problem that ties in with my point about PCs not being able to do much. Hopelessness is not an RP-positive interactive environment if it lasts, I've had to "censor" my PC a few times to avoid isolation in this case. We're already making some steps in the right direction here (the Diagon announcement, etc) but we could always benefit from a few more excuses to look on the bright side and keep attitudes stable!
This doesn't even have to have anything to do with the main plot... other smaller plots and one-off events could help if they're allowed to, as do PC interactions from those who manage to break through the slump.

_________________
Corinne Beckett - Inherited flower shop and eventually relocated to Diagon Alley.
Michael Draufy - Went to America to study native magical creatures. Still visits Anastasia.
Jade Celine - Married Peran and became a magical archaeologist.
Ana Celine - Took her revenge and vanished into the night.
Space Dog - Some say it still roams the halls of Hogwarts in search of petting.

I concur. The last main plot (LAM) lasted for approximately a year (give or take), I'm not for certain, but it certainly felt like forever with the hiatus that was taken from the DMs in charge of the plot. But luckily we had many distractions at the time. There were classes and there were side plots and much progression in character development. More of this would help distract people from the longevity of the main plot.

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So here's the main concerns I think I'm hearing...

ONE - Wanting to see when a DM is on.

TWO - PCs feeling as if they can't do anything.

THREE - Not being able to see where other people are.

FOUR - Being confined to the Ministry Basement.

FIVE - Players logging in and then immediately out.

SIX - Feeling under-powered in comparison to other overpowered characters.

Does anyone disagree? Is there anything I'm missing or that shouldn't be on there?

Now that a few of you have had chance to discuss your issues. Does anyone have any ideas for solutions? Or anything that might bring us on a path to a solution?

Also for anyone that hasn't had a chance to post their own, please feel free to continue to do so.

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The Criminal - Sliver Vortec - Expelled
The Brain - Skylar Dune - Seventh Year
The Athlete - Lance Silverston - Seventh Year
The Basket Case - Drathil Vortec - Seventh Year

"Everybody prefers to see a nut - they're more fascinating." - Penn Jillette

I think you were referring to something what I said with this one. And I don't think this is really the issue. You could probably just combined this with the second one. Obviously, players are going to be better than others with different things. And there are items in the game that can modify that depending on your year.
It was really late at night when I was typing my response all up....or maybe I was just super tired.
What I meant was, there are too many players with so much 'privileges.'
For example:
player#1- is a seventh year prefect, triwizard champion, is a werewolf, is also a animagus, and also is best friends with Dumbledore (they have tea every Saturday).

player#2- is a seventh year...and... and...has a wand? Asked DM if he could have a Chocolate Frog and they said No.

player#3 (this person also plays player #1) - is a seventh year prefect, Quidditch Captain, has a House Elf, has the Elder Wand and is also a Death Eater.

Obviously these are extremes because I don't want to give out specific examples and I am making my point as clear as possible. If a player doesn't feel like they have a purpose on the server and they aren't going to ever be coming back. I know people that have left because they have felt this way. Or they just feel because they are denied the opportunity so many times whats the point.

I think some of the other points go a bit deeper than what was stating but I could be hearing wrong myself haha. You probably have better ears then me.

think 1 3 5 are tech the same issue, but that's my two cents worth, just got back so obviously I aint discouraged by any of it.

Personally, I haven't heard much of a comparison issue - I've been getting these complaints even from a couple of the "overpowered" ones. It's everyone. Everyone is subject to #2, especially lower years (anyone under 7th.)

It's a school full of fumbling barely-passing students right now, unless we're the type of player to bypass checking in with DMs altogether and just run away with the RP, which isn't... really what people should be doing most of the time.

Other than that, I think this is a very good list!

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Corinne Beckett - Inherited flower shop and eventually relocated to Diagon Alley.
Michael Draufy - Went to America to study native magical creatures. Still visits Anastasia.
Jade Celine - Married Peran and became a magical archaeologist.
Ana Celine - Took her revenge and vanished into the night.
Space Dog - Some say it still roams the halls of Hogwarts in search of petting.

ONE - Wanting to see know who's on and where they are, including DMs.

TWO - PCs feeling as if they can't do anything, under-privileged, meek.

THREE - Being confined to the Ministry Basement, away from Post-Grads.

I think this is a better condensed list.
Now does anyone have any suggestions as to how we can go about fixing these?

_________________
The Criminal - Sliver Vortec - Expelled
The Brain - Skylar Dune - Seventh Year
The Athlete - Lance Silverston - Seventh Year
The Basket Case - Drathil Vortec - Seventh Year

"Everybody prefers to see a nut - they're more fascinating." - Penn Jillette

The first issue is probably the easiest to fix, so here's a few ideas to think about...
1. Consider enabling DM login notices. This is good because people will more easily realize when DMs are on, but it could also be bad if DMs are immediately drowned in messages. It's something to consider and maybe try out to see what happens, it may or may not be a good solution.
2. Give players an ability (like an /e command) to get a quick list of who's online, including DMs. This in my opinion would be the cleanest solution, and would prevent message-drowning because people won't be typing the command constantly.

The second issue is a toughie. Basically... give more opportunities to succeed. Not just barely manage to stay alive and in school, but actually succeed at something - especially things that are meaningful to those characters, their plots and development.
This might mean easing back on regulation and DC's somewhat in favor of rewarding creativity and RP. It doesn't mean letting everyone be overpowered, because many of these things aren't powerful at all, they're just unique and interesting. This goes for characters of any age and level.

I think we need to let the third issue develop a little more now that more characters are allowed to leave the Basement and bring others, it's already improving. It never hurts to have places to visit and RP in.

Thanks for putting up with my rambling!

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Corinne Beckett - Inherited flower shop and eventually relocated to Diagon Alley.
Michael Draufy - Went to America to study native magical creatures. Still visits Anastasia.
Jade Celine - Married Peran and became a magical archaeologist.
Ana Celine - Took her revenge and vanished into the night.
Space Dog - Some say it still roams the halls of Hogwarts in search of petting.

We turned off DM login notices years ago for just the reason you mentioned. There was a period of time when I would log into the mod and plan on holding office hours. I set up shop in the afk room and let players queue up and file through one at a time, so that I could answer questions and help them with their issues. That quickly became a regular chore, to be finished before any RP could happen.

Even though we now have fewer players and more game masters, there are better ways to handle things. Players shouldn't be afraid to use the DM channel. If you don't get a response right away, you shouldn't take it personally. Sometimes the GMs are distracted. Sometimes we're actually discussing players' questions and issues, and thinking about what might be the best answer, or the funnest way to approach some situation. If you don't get a response, try the channel again after a while.

Also, use the forums. Send private messages to the GMs. That helps us address the issues of characters without interrupting the action already in progress. Private messages are also less likely to be overlooked, since they cannot be lost in scrolling text.

Sometimes players are waiting on GMs, and at the same time the GMs are waiting on the players. Don't be afraid to make the first move.